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The Widow Goes On A Date

September 5, 2018 By Janine 11 Comments

Grey stairs.

The last time I went on a first date Bob Hawke was Prime Minister, Liam Hemsworth was being born, Madonna was singing Vogue on the radio, Macaulay Culkin was being left Home Alone and Kevin Costner was Dancing with Wolves. It was a long time ago people.   To be honest I've never been great at the dating game. On one of my first few dates … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grief, Humour, Life, Uncategorized

Milestone Moments

October 23, 2017 By Janine Leave a Comment

A messy scrapbooking desk

Hey Simon, Despite my best intentions to ignore the milestones they keep on happening, with or without you. We celebrated your Mum's 80th birthday back in August. A rushed trip of some 1,850 kilometres all up with just four days to do the 9 hour plus journey, see your Mum, enjoy a night out together and turn around and do the next 9 plus hours … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grief

REMEMBERING PRINCESS DIANA

July 30, 2017 By Janine 2 Comments

Princess Diana

It's hard to explain Diana, Princess of Wales to those who weren't around at the height of di-mania. My daughters and I watched a documentary a couple of weeks ago about Diana's death. It's 20 years since we all listened in stunned silence to the newsreaders telling us she had died in a car accident in Paris.  She was just 36 years old. My … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grief Tagged With: Princess Diana

A New Week

June 27, 2016 By Janine 3 Comments

Hi Simon A new week is beginning down here in relentless reality. There are a bills to be paid, a job to get to and so on. On the positive, Hippie Child is home for a holiday. We went off to the Melbourne Comedy Roadshow and had dinner after at The Grape and Petal. It was lovely to all be together again. I've begun binge watching The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grief Tagged With: Letter to Simon

Keeping it Together

May 19, 2016 By Janine 10 Comments

    Dear Simon It's hump day. The middle of the working week. Already the to do list has bitten the dust, replaced by the just-in-the-nick-of-time-battle-to-do-the-urgent-stuff list. I've been working full time for over a year now. I've signed on for the job permanently - which means slotting into income bands, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grief Tagged With: Sheryl Sandberg, single parenting

Two Years on The Grief Journey

April 18, 2016 By Janine 8 Comments

Flowers on the Grave

So it turns out this grief thing doesn't have an end date. The calendar says it's been two years but our hearts still feel like it was yesterday. You've got no idea the number of people who drown, this summer has been a particularly bad one. I want to pass a law that nobody goes onto a beach without a life jacket. It seems there's a lot of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grief Tagged With: death, Grief

Christmas 2015

January 6, 2016 By Janine 4 Comments

Christmas when someone is missing can be a tough gig. Robin Bailey wrote about the lead up to her second christmas since her husband's death on Mamamia. While Christine Rasmusen on Second Firsts had some great advice for those struggling to deal with the holiday season. This year was our second christmas since we lost Simon.For the first time we … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Family, Grief Tagged With: Christmas, Grief

Exorcising the Grief With Another Letter

January 5, 2016 By Janine 7 Comments

Dear Simon It's been awhile, sorry about that, but I've been busy you know raising these daughters you left behind, dealing with this house (yes I know the house was all my idea, clearly you were right it was a bad idea to build I can hear the "I told you so" booming down on me) and working full time. You would be so proud of our girls, they … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grief

So Things Got A Little Freaky

January 21, 2015 By Janine 11 Comments

Dear Simon Talk about signs, this one was a bit out there. I'm trying to get this bloody house finished so I was googling renderers to finish the brickwork, there was one there called Simon Williams (how weird that he would have your name)! Princess Child said I wasn't to call him ... so I rang four others, one was too busy and the other … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grief Tagged With: Letter to Simon

And So I’ll Stand

January 19, 2015 By Janine 2 Comments

 By Brett Goshorn He never sat on the sidelines, He always stood, And I never paid much attention to it. But as the years passed, I found myself dragging an extra chair, To the weekly ritual of the round ball. Where it would be thrown on the cold earth, Unused, Wrapped in its shroud. The ladies loved to sit. And that was fine. Blankets, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grief Tagged With: Grief, Soccer

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Janine Fitzpatrick is a personal blogger with an untidy house, imperfect children and no celebrity friends.

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Weekend Notes

WATCHINGI went to see Fiona O'Loughlin last night. She's the comedian who survived alcoholism, a two week coma from not realising, in her drunken state, that the heater in the dive she was living in was leaking carbon monoxide.  Then went on to spend … [Read More...]

Weekend Notes

Watching We headed to the movies this weekend and saw the latest Spike Lee film, BlacKkKlansman. It's the story of the first black cop in the Colorado Springs police force, Ron Stallworth, who in the late 70's managed to infiltrate the Ku Klux … [Read More...]

Sleepless

So I've been awake since 3.00am. In that time I've signed the family up for an organizing app which can run a joint calendar, shared shopping and to-do lists and has downloaded a series of recipes that are supposed to make my "what's for dinner" … [Read More...]

Grey stairs.

The Widow Goes On A Date

The last time I went on a first date Bob Hawke was Prime Minister, Liam Hemsworth was being born, Madonna was singing Vogue on the radio, Macaulay Culkin was being left Home Alone and Kevin Costner was Dancing with Wolves. It was a long time ago … [Read More...]

Father with two daughters.

Another Father’s Day

Hi Simon, How's things going up there? Did you have a beer with your Dad for Father's Dad? We blatantly ignored the day here. Just pretended it wasn't happening. We still think about you every day. I didn't post anything on Facebook because it … [Read More...]

Daisy flowers

Hellooo Again

  Hi, I'm just here unwrapping the dust covers, brushing down the spiderwebs and sweeping up the left-over dreams of my tiny little space on the internet. I know I've been gone almost 12-months. I'm not even sure how that happened. A … [Read More...]

A messy scrapbooking desk

Milestone Moments

Hey Simon, Despite my best intentions to ignore the milestones they keep on happening, with or without you. We celebrated your Mum's 80th birthday back in August. A rushed trip of some 1,850 kilometres all up with just four days to do the 9 hour … [Read More...]

Weekend Notes

What have you been up to this weekend? Watching  We caught Home Again in the cinema. It's the latest Reese Witherspoon film.  It's a fun little comedy. Reese plays Alice a just-turned 40 divorcing mum of two. At her birthday drinks she … [Read More...]

Picture of a beach.

Weekend Notes

  As the weekend draws to a close here's a little of what caught my eye in the last 48 hours. Watching Saw Battle of the Sexes the new Emma Stone movie about the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. Oh what a time … [Read More...]

A Bag of chips, wine, chocolate, lemonade and magazine. A parody of a bug out bag for the apocalypse.

Could You Survive The Apocalypse?

South Koreans are buying "survival bags" and turning to YouTube for tips on making it through a nuclear blast. The New York Times is writing articles on How To Survive The Apocalypse and the doomsday preppers are starting to look like the smart ones. … [Read More...]

chocolate and wine

Home Alone: The Empty Nest

The empty nest looms in my near future. One more year before the youngest heads out into the world without my micromanaging her every move. I can feel the rotor blades on my helicopter starting to slow.   I heard a whisper of what may … [Read More...]

Weekend Notes

It's a long weekend here in Australia.  So it's been a lazy time. Perfect for some catch-up TV, movies and reading.   Watching I've been enjoying Doctor Doctor it was shot in my old hometown of Mudgee and gosh it's looking … [Read More...]

iVillage

Janine Fitzpatrick is a personal blogger with an untidy house, imperfect children and no celebrity friends. Read More…

Grey stairs.
Father with two daughters.

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